FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. What payment methods are there?
A. We accept most major credit/debit cards via online or over the phone. We use PayPal as our service provider. We also accept cheque and bank transfer.

Q. I don’t have PayPal – can I still use it?
A. Yes, an account is not required.

Q. How safe is making an online booking?
A. Very! Not only is your private data not stored (or even able to be viewed) by us, it offers you peace of mind. In addition, PayPal now offer protection for not only goods purchased, but also services so in the highly unlikely event we disappeared off the face of the planet, you are covered by PayPal’s Buyer Protection scheme. The best thing is, you need do nothing to qualify for this other than to use your credit/debit card with us. More on PayPal’s protection for buyers can be found independently at PayPal.com

Q. How much do I need to pay upfront/deposit?
A. A deposit of £100 is required for packages booked on this site (£150 for Premium Packages booked on our sister site). For international weddings and events, additional payment may be required in advance for flights/accommodation.

Q. When is the remaining balance due?
A. 21-days before your wedding although you can pay it off any time before then

Q. Can I pay in installments?
A. You can pay as frequently or infrequently as you like. Just as long as the full balance is paid in full by 21-days before the wedding, you’re fine

Q. What happens if I need to cancel/postpone?
A. In the unlikely event you need to cancel or change the date of your wedding, depending on the notice you give will determine if you are entitled to a partial refund or in fact will still owe us further money. As a general guide, clients that give 3-months notice or more of a cancellation will lose only their deposit. Any additional funds paid outside of the deposit will be returned within 28-days. Should you provide less than 3-months notice, the full sum of the original booking is due regardless of whether the wedding proceeds or not. If you are simply postponing your wedding, this will also be treated as a cancellation. If we are free on your new date, we will simply change your booking over. If we are not free, then normal cancellation charges apply depending on how much notice you give. Should you postpone your wedding and/or cancel for a second time, you will be liable for costs of the original booking regardless of notice period given. Any postponements 18-months or longer from the original date will not be accepted and will be treated as a cancellation.

Q. What happens if I want to change/upgrade my package?
A. Please contact us with the details as soon as possible and we will try to accommodate you where I can. Generally most upgrades are available (team availability permitting). Downgrades may incur costs, in particular if you are reducing number of team attending your wedding (e.g. downgrading from a dual photo-video package to a standalone one).

Q. I’ve given you some wrong details!
A. Just pop us an email with the correct details on.

Q. Do you do wedding photography too?
A. Yes we certainly do. Photography along with our Premium Video service can be found at our sister website www.tonyhailstone.com

Q. I’m really nervous about having my wedding filmed…
A. Whilst we understand your nerves, once we’ve been with you for five minutes you’ll soon forget we are there. Our videos are shot completely naturally so you do not need to pose or speak to the camera. We also use deliberately discreet cameras (rather than giant ones) to make it feel less intimidating (plus large camera don’t actually mean better quality – they are more for vanity than anything else!).

Q. My uncle says he’ll film it…
A. Unless your Uncle does filming wedding professionally, we recommend leaving it to us. Anyone can own a professional camera but knowing how to use it properly makes the difference between a good and a terrible wedding video. Our experience with weddings means not only can we use our equipment more effectively, we can anticipate where we need to be and what might happen next much better than someone who has only attended weddings previously as a guest.

Q. My uncle actually did film it and messed it up – can you edit/salvage it?
A. Whilst we are happy to provide an editing service, depending on the severity of the problems, the video may not be fixable. Please contact us though as you never know!

Q. How long is the final video?
A. This varies greatly from video to video but as a rough guide, most feature-length wedding videos are between 45-60 minutes. We can’t stress enough though these are just estimates and the length of your service and speeches will have a significant influence in the final running length. If you have selected to have the highlight video (Short N Sweet) instead, this is typically around 5-10 minutes long.

Q. Will I be able to hear what is going on?
A. For our feature length videos, yes. For our Short N Sweet Package, no. When we are recording audio, we typically only use it during the main ceremony and speeches – the rest of the video is typically played to music.

Q. Do you use radio mics?
A. No. We do sometimes use small lapel mics (non-radio) that clip onto the groom/vicars jacket during the service and speeches, with the audio recorder going into their pocket, but these do not broadcast live. We purposely do not use radio mics as these can interfere with your own venues setup.

Q. Do you mic up the Bride?
A. Oh no! After you spent all that time selecting your dress, the last thing you want is a mic attached to it. The grooms lapel mic will naturally pick up the Bride’s voice during the vows so mic’ing up the Bride is unnecessary.

Q. How long does it take to receive my video?
A. Video editing is extremely time-consuming (more so than photography). The turnaround time varies depending on your package and time of year so it can take quite some time. To keep the prices amazingly low (there’s not many competitors that offer the same quality/price ratio that we do) editing is squeezed into available slots around other work and projects we take on. This can result in turnaround times of 3-6 months but of course if we can get it to you sooner we will. Alternatively you can pay extra to receive priority editing (14 or 7 day options) or upgrade to one of our Premium offers at www.tonyhailstone.com . We would rather spend extra time making sure your video is great than rush it and it be of poor quality.

Q. Can I pick the music in my video?
A. Of course. We’ll ask you for a list closer to the wedding day.

Q. Does my package include DVD/Bluray discs?
A. All packages are digital download only but disc production can be added for £75.

Q. Why no discs?
A. Physical formats such as DVD and Bluray are on the way out. With thanks to services like Netflix, Amazon Instant and iPlayer, online streaming is now common place in the UK. As preparing discs is hugely time consuming (this is in addition to the editing we do) we have removed these as standard to keep prices low. Our links work with most Smart TV’s and Smart Devices (e.g. tablets, phones etc.) as well as laptops and PCs. It goes without saying, you will need an Internet connection. The streaming version is in excellent 1080p Full HD so will look much better than DVD’s. You also never have to worry about breaking your wedding DVD and losing it forever. As a backup (and convenience) we also provide a downloadable version for offline viewing. This is useful if you would prefer to copy your video to a USB stick for later viewing (sometimes easier than typing in a link). You have both options so it’s up to you

Q. What is the quality of the preview like?
A. Our previews are in excellent 720p HD quality (better than DVD). Some previews may have our logo watermarked on – this will not be in the final version you receive on disc. If you order the online version of your video (no discs) this video will be replaced with a full HD 1080p copy with no watermark/logo.

Q. Why does the DVD look worse than my online preview when watching on TV?A. DVD was designed many years before giant flat screen TV’s existed. As such, the quality of a DVD is significantly worse than many online services (including ourselves) now offer. Services such as Amazon Instant and Netflix have revolutionised TV viewing so it’s typically more convenient to stream than use a disc.

Q. My online wedding video preview is stopping/starting or the picture quality is breaking up…
A. This sounds like you have a poor internet connection. We recommend speeds of 5mbps or more. It will work on slower speeds, but the quality will be lower and it may keep stopping during playback. If you are experiencing this trouble, try pausing playback for a few minutes. Also, make sure no one else in the house is using the internet connection – this includes wi-fi and on-demand services. Our video host Vimeo uses variable bit rate technology meaning it will reduce the quality if it detects a slow internet connection.

Q. What is the difference between DVD, Bluray and 4K Ultra HD?A. DVD and Bluray are both discs formats for holding video. Even though they look identical, the similarities end there. Bluray offers four times the picture quality over DVD and this becomes more apparent when using larger displays (e.g. big TV’s). Bluray discs require a different player to DVD’s (although fortunately, DVD’s will work in Bluray players but not the other way around). Ultra HD (also known as 4K) is different again. This is not specifically a physical format like a disc (although they are coming soon). Ultra HD refers to the QUALITY and SIZE of the footage shot. Similar to the leap in quality from DVD to Bluray, Ultra HD offers a four time picture quality over Bluray (and 16 times compared to DVD). This offers beautifully detailed and colourful pictures. Currently Ultra HD is only available for download – no disc format exists. Due to the huge storage and challenging editing requirements, Ultra HD is only available with our Premium Packages over at www.tonyhailstone.com

Q. My church/venue wants to charge me to have the service filmed/photographed, who pays for this?A. It is the clients responsibility to secure access and pay any license/permit fees required. We do however pay for the music license for your video but this is separate to anything venues may charge.

Q. My church/venue does not allow any photography/filming…
A. Unfortunately at a handful of locations, this will be the case. Before booking us you should always double check your venue allows us access. Even if we are denied access, we can still put together a great video from the remainder of the day.

Q. Where do you stand during the service?
A. For both video and photography, we like to get a spot up front facing the bride. We try to be discreet by restricting our movements. In fact, you should be aware many venues (namely churches) do not allow any movement once the service has started and may have a designated “spot”. In these situations we will provide the best photos/video that we can do from the assigned “spot”. It’s important to you contact your church to understand what is/is not allowed, to avoid disappointment.

Q. Do you use flash/video lights?
A. We never use flash or video lights during the main ceremony. For remainder of day, both may be used at some point although we try to use natural light where possible.

Q. Do you attend the wedding rehearsal?
A. No. We will arrive at your venue early to go over the layout and speak to the registrar/vicar to ensure we are playing by the rules. Generally speaking, attending a wedding rehearsal is of no benefit because 99% of venues have an assigned spot so we are not allowed to move.

Q. Do you charge for travel?
A. Parking, bridge/tunnel tolls and congestion charges to get to and from your venue(s) are not included and will be charged to the client after the wedding. It is very rare for there to be any charges at all as most wedding venues offer free parking but you should check this ahead of time. For the majority of locations in England & Wales, no travel charges apply. However, the later you leave it to book, the more likely it is travel will be charged as our nearest available videographer may need to travel further than usual. Weddings in the South East (Inner M25, Greater London, London, Kent, Essex and Sussex) attract a £100 surcharge on all bookings. Even with the surcharge applied in these locations, we are still far below average prices for those areas.

Q. I’m having my wedding abroad, can you shoot it and how much it would cost?
A. Of course! Our package prices are the same for international weddings as they are for ones here in this country. However, we do charge for all out of pocket expenses which includes flights, transfers, insurance, accommodation and food and drink. We would also charge for time away so if for example, you are getting married in Australia, all the time spent travelling would be in addition to the wedding day itself (as we would not be able to accept any further work back home whilst we are with you). If there are also no available flights shortly after your wedding, you would be charged all out of pocket expenses and time spent until first available flight home. If you are thinking of getting married abroad, please contact us so we can provide an estimate.